Spindle clutch



- Dec. 1., 1931, 6. H. MAGRATH SPINDLE CLUTCH 7 Filed Jan. 16 1929Patented Dec. 1; 1931 UNITED STA SQ PATENT; F

i flenonen H. nAGRe'rn, t gwmmsvms, MA ACHUSETTS "SPINIDLE oL TCHfApplication filed January 16, 1929. Serial No. 332,978.

This invention relates to a spindle clutch for detachablyconnecting'the'bobbin to the spindle of a spinning or twisting machine.

. The'principal objects of thisinvention are tovprovide a constructioninwhich aspringpressed collar on the spindle operates a se-. ries ofindependent clutch fingersand an integral casingis provided so that thiscollar need not be fitted closely 'to the spindleand lo the moisture dueto steam will not be likely to stick the collar to the spindle'by meansof a film of rust and prevent the proper operation of the clutch. tOther objects and advantages of the in- 15 vention will appearhereinafter; Reference is tobe had to the accompany- 'ing. drawings .inwhich 1 a v Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spindle" and clutchconstituting a preferred embodiment as of this invention; V Fig. 2 is adiametrical sectional view of the same; I f

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view onthe line 33.of Fig. 2; and IFFigMt is a section along the line H of i 3. V Tam aware of thefact thatspindle clutches have been on the market for a number of years in whicha collar is slidably mounted on the spindle and pressed upwardly thereonby a spring and this collar is used to operate the clutch fingers. Onediificulty of that arrangement has beenthat the collar had to fit thespindle pretty closely in order to avoid 7 its getting out of center andfailing to operate properly. This proved, quite-a disadvantage as thecollar is made ,of steel like the spindle and as the fit was so tightthexmoisture of the spinning room: and steam in'the atmosphere tended toform films of rust which would at times attach the collar to the spindleand prevent any motion of the collar thereon, thus tying the device upand preventing its functioning as it should.

By my construction, however, the collar is held within the casingwhichis sosh'aped as to center a'ndhold the'collar and therefore the collar'c'anbe made to the spindle looseso ly and the danger of its sticking onaccount these'springs to allow the bobbin to be put of rust due tomoisture is'very greatly reduced and practically eliminated.

Referringto the drawings I have shown the invention asapplied to theusual spindle 10 having a driving memberbor whorl 11 55 thereon providedwith an annular recess 12 in its upper surface, concentric with thespindle. Extending upwardly from this re-v cess is a casing 13. Thiscasing is formed of a singlepiece of metal having an opening at'thetopfitting thespindle and a-plurality of wall portions 15 extendingdown'wardly and adapted to fit at their lower ends within the recess inthe whorl. They arespaced apart to provide slots o'r openingslG. fWithin the slots or openings 16 a v series of entirely separate springclutch fingers 20 are mounted. These fingers are provided with offsetportions 22 at theirupper ends. These oifsetportions or lugs are ontheinnersides and extend under, the surface of the casing 13 near thetop. This holds the upper ends of these fingers QOfan'd at the lowerends they are held in the'recess 12 into which they project. It will beseen that they normally oc-' cupy, an inclinedposition and as theirouter surfaces are convex theyconstitute' part of a cone with its baseat the .topand they are capable of swinging in slightly as usualwithonand'to resist its being taken on. The in-- her sides 24; of theseupwardly extending projections 22 are inclined .an'd bearon the conicaledgeof the loose collar 23 carried by thespindle and supported by aspring 25 from below. This collar is loosely mounted on thespindle so'it has considerable play. Its upper end is coned off'and the conicalsurface fits against the inclined surfaces 2 1 to keepthe collarcentered onthe'spindle.

' The important feature of this invention lies inthe fact that thiscasing is held in fixed position and that it holds the collar centrally.as shown in Fig. stand therefore the collar does not have to fit thespindle tightly. For t that reason any little spot'of rust that islikely to form on the polished surface of the steel spindle or collarwill not besuflicient to stick them together and prevent'the collar frommoving longitudinally a accordance Too with the pressure it receivesbacked up as it is by the spring.

It will be seen also that the slots 16 are just Wide enough to receivethe fingers 20 and as these fingers have material thickness and do notproject out beyond the cylindrical surface of the casing 13 a distancegreater than the thickness of this metal there are no spaces provided inwhich lint and dust can enter and accumulate. Therefore there is nodanger of the device being plugged up or rendered inoperative for thatreason.

Although I have illustrated and described only one form of the inventionI am aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein by anyperson skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to belimited in this respect but what I do claim is 2-' 1. Abobbin clutchcomprising a spindle, clutch fingers disposed longitudinally of thespindle and spaced circumferentially thereabout, retaining means forsupporting the fingers for movement substantially radially of thespindle, a member disposed within the fingers and having a centralopening receiving the spindle, the central opening being sufficientlylarger than the spindle to provide for movement of the member along thespindle without substantial engagement with the latter, means providingcomplementary cam surfaces on the member and on the fingers, means forurging the member along the spindle in a direction to effect engagementof these cam surfaces and thereby to urge the fingers outwardly, andmeans for g'uiding'the member for movement along the spindle andsubstantially out of engagement therewith.

'2. A bobbin clutch comprising a spindle, driving and easing memberscarried by the spindle and having opposed finger retaining recessestherein, fingers disposed longitudr nally of the spindle and spacedcircumferen tially thereabout, the fingers being mounted in the opposedfinger retaining recesses of the driving and casing members, anactuating member disposed within the fingers and having a centralopening receiving the spindle and sufliciently larger than the latter toprovide for movement therealong without substantial engagementtherewith, means providing complementary cam surfaces on this member andon the fingers, means for urging the actuating member along the spindlein a direction to effect engagement of the cam surfaces and thereby tourge the fingers outwardly and means carried by one of said driving andcasing members for guidin'gthe actuating member for movement along thespindle without substantial engagement therewith. p I V 3. A bobbinclutch comprising a spindle, driving and easing members carried byjthespindle and having opposed finger retaining recesses therein, fingersdisposed longitudinally of the spindle and spaced circumferentiallythereabout, the fingers being mountec in the opposed finger retainingrecesses of the driving and casing members, an actuating member disposedwithin the fingers and having a central opening receiving the spindleand sufficiently larger than the latter to provide for movementtherealong without substantial engagement therewith, means providingcomplementary cam surfaces on this member and on the fingers, means forurging the actuating member along the spindle in a direction to effectengagement of the cam surfaces and thereby to urge the fingersoutwardly, and means disposed between the fingers and extendingsubstantially between the driving and casing members and carried by oneof the latter members for 'uiding the actuating member along the spincle substantially free from engagement with the latter.

4. A bobbin clutch'comprising a spindle, driving and casing memberscarried thereby, these members having opposed finger retaining recesses,the casing member having circumferentially spaced and longitudinallydisposed finger receiving slots forming intervening longitudinallydisposed guide members, the latter having interior guide surfacessubstantially concentric with the spindle, fingers mounted in theopposed recessesand disposed in the slots, a substantially annularmember disposed about the spindle and within the fingers, the annularmember having substantial-1y concentric inner -'and outer surfaces, theinner of these surfaces being of sufficient diameter to prov-i deformovement along the spindle Without substantial engagement therewith,the outer of these surfaces having a diameter approximating that of theinterior-guide surfaces of the guide members so that the latter may beeffective for guiding the annular member along the spindle Withoutsubstantial engagement therewith, means providing complementary camsurfaces on the annular member and on the fingers, and means for urgingthe annular member along the spindle in a direction to effect engagement"of these cam surfaces and thereby to urge the fingers yieldably outwardfor ongagement with a bobbin.

5. A bobbin clutch comprising a spindle, driving and casing membersaffixed to the spindle and having opposed finger retaining recessestherein, fingers spaced circumferential ly about the spindle anddisposed longitudinally thereof with their end portions disposed in theopposed recesses, means for holding the respective upper and lower endsof the fingers from displacement circumferentially of the spindle whileproviding for movement ofthese fingers substantially radially of thespindle, a substantially annular expander member disposed within thefingers and about the spindle in slidable relation with respect tothe-latter, means providing cooperating cam surfaces onthe annularexpander member and on the fingers for moving the latter outwardly, andmeans for urging the annularexpander member along the spindle in adirection to efiect outward movement of the fingers, said first meanscomprising portions of said casing member which extend between saidfingers in juxtaposition to the outer periphery of said expander "memberand the inner periphery of the expander tudinally thereof with their endportions disposed in the opposed recesses, means rigid with the spindleand extending substantially from the upper ends of the fingersdownwardly along and in slidable engagement with the lingers for aconsiderable portion of the length thereof for holding these fingersfrom displacement circumierentially of the spindle while providing forsubstantially radial movement thereof, means within the fingers andslidable along the spindle for moving the fingersoutwardly, and meansfor urging the last mentioned means in a direction to efi'ect outwardmovement of the fingers, said first means comprising portions of saidcasing member which extend between said fingers in juxtaposition to theouter periphery of saidexpander member and the inner periphery of theexpander member being loose on the spindle, whereby the expander membermay move longitudinally of the device without binding under adverseconditions of usage.

7. A bobbin clutch comprising a spindle, driving and easing members,afiixed to the spindle and having opposed finger retaining recessestherein, fingers spaced circumferentially about thespindl'e and disposedlongitudinally thereof with their end portions oisposed in the opposedrecesses, means carried by the casing member and extending between andin slidable engagement with the fingers substantially to the drivingmember for holding the fingers from displacement circumi erentially ofthe spindle while providing for substantially radial movement of thefingers, means within the fingers and slidable along the spindle formoving the fingers outwardly, and means for urging the last mentionedmeans in a direction to effect outward movement of the fingers, saidfirst means comprising portions of said casing. member which extendbetween said, fingers in vjuxtaposition to the outer periphery of saidexpander member 'and the inner periphery of'the exparider member beingloose on the spindle, whereby the expander member mayimovelongitudinally of'the device without binding under adverse conditions ofusage.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto af- 7 fixed my signature.

enonen HMAGRATH.

